St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Jackson has a new priest, and she said she wants to see the church reach out to the community.

The Rev. Gayle McCarty started her new position June 15, and she said she has already been impressed by the resilience and resourcefulness of the congregation.

"They have been without a priest for two years," McCarty said. "I'm bringing the energy to match their enthusiasm."

McCarty comes to Jackson from Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Memphis. Prior to serving there, she was a prosecutor in Memphis for 12 years.

"That was indeed my calling for a good while," McCarty said. "But your call changes ... I think your work environment shapes you, and I was feeling I was being misshapen."

She said the setting she was in became intolerable. At the same time, her mother was diagnosed with a rare neurological disease. McCarty resigned from her job to help her father care for her.

During that time, she said she began to discern that she may be called to pastoral ministry.

"It was a long, slow surrender," McCarty said. "That's the short version."

She attended Seminary of the Southwest to receive her Master of Divinity degree. After being assigned to Grace-St. Luke's, she remained there for six years before coming to Jackson.

McCarty said she wants St. Luke's to reclaim its place in the faith community of Jackson and the community as a whole. She said she plans to spend much of her first year at the church getting to know people.

"It's all about relationships," she said. "I want people to know who I am, and I want to know who they are."

McCarty said everything in her life has shaped the way she does ministry.

"Everything that we do equips and empowers us for what God calls us to do next," she said. "My time at the attorney general's office equipped and empowered me for ministry, as did my time caring for my mother."

In addition to her love for people, McCarty has a love for animals. She said she takes inspiration from St. Francis in that regard.

"It is our responsibility to love and care for all of God's creatures," she said.

McCarty has two rescue dogs and three rescue cats, and she said she hopes to get involved with animal rescue shelters in Jackson as she was in Memphis.

She said she is looking forward to leading St. Luke's in many outreach efforts.

"This is an outward facing church," she said. "We must look beyond these four walls."

McCarty invited anyone to join her for St. Luke's Sunday services at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. each week. St. Luke's Episcopal Church is located at 309 E. Baltimore St. in Jackson.